In a typical gas turbine engine, a compressor having alternating stages of rotating and stationary airfoils is coupled to a turbine, which also has alternating stages of rotating and stationary airfoils. The compressor stages decrease in size, and as the volume decreases, the air passing therethrough is compressed, raising its temperature and pressure. The compressed air is then supplied to one or more combustors which mixes the air with fuel and ignites the mixture to form hot combustion gases. The hot combustion gases are directed into a turbine, where the expansion of the hot combustion gases drives the stages of a turbine, which is in turn, coupled to the compressor to drive the compressor. The exhaust gases can then be used as a source of propulsion, as typical in an aircraft engine, or in powerplant operations to turn a shaft coupled to a generator for producing electricity.
The exact type and size of combustion systems used in a gas turbine engine can vary depending on a variety of factors such as engine geometry, performance requirements, and fuel type. Each combustor typically includes at least one fuel injection means and ignition source. The gas turbine engine may have a single combustor or a series of individual or inter-connected combustors.
Combustion systems however do not always burn all of the fuel particles or do not completely burn the fuel particles, which results in higher emissions. Therefore, what is needed is a way of more completely mixing and burning the fuel particles to obtain the maximum energy output from the burned fuel while minimizing the resulting emissions.